Fernette, Lions down Dwight

If first you don't make a shot, shoot, shoot again.

That's Lisle girls basketball coach Jeff Javior's philosophy when it comes to Danielle Fernette, who has the green light to shoot no matter how much she might be struggling.

Thursday was one of those nights.

Fernette was mired in a 1-for-9 shooting slump from beyond the 3-point line, but, luckily for the Lions, she didn't hesitate taking No. 10.

When teammate Megan Hannan made a scrappy steal in the backcourt, she pushed the ball ahead to Fernette in the left corner. The senior forward buried the baseline 3-pointer to tie the Interstate Eight Conference game with 12 seconds left in regulation, and the host Lions went on to beat Dwight 54-51 in overtime.

"It was pretty intense," Fernette said of her game-tying trey. "My shot was off all night, so I didn't know if it was going in for sure, but I just took it just in case."

"Unbelievable," Javior said. "It shouldn't have come down to that, but it made it more exciting in the end for us."

Dwight (8-10, 4-3) missed 3 shots from close range in the final seconds of regulation.

Lisle (7-10, 6-1) scored the first 5 points of OT as the lid stayed on the Dwight basket. The Trojans missed their first 14 field-goal attempts of the extra period as they misfired on one putback after another.

Lisle senior forward Sara Urban delivered team highs of 17 points -- 8 coming in the fourth quarter -- and 16 rebounds.

"That's Sara," Javior said of her aggressiveness. "That's how she plays every single game."

Hannan added 14 points for the Lions, who trailed 27-23 at halftime and 34-33 heading into the fourth. The home team pulled ahead 44-38 only to watch the lead disappear.

Dwight sophomore forward Chaney Tambling led all scorers with 18.

The victory kept Lisle a game out of first place in the IEC. The Lions are in a three-way tie with Sandwich and Coal City for second behind Reed-Custer.

Javior called Fernette over afterward and related a story about her going 0 of 17 in last season's opener.

What did the coach tell her?

"Keep shooting," Fernette said.

The streak became 20-something until Fernette finally made a shot.

"But that's her," Javior said. "She'll be as cold as ice for the longest amount of time and then all of a sudden, she'll hit five in a row."

This time all it took was one.